Fade to Red

“Thanks,” he said.

She didn’t answer, but her cheeks turned pink.

He could have sworn he’d never seen the girl blink.

The weather was perfection in su

Everyone was excited to be back in California and pla

Ian and Sparrow were going to check on the progress of their house and then come over. Beckham had invited them to stay at his place so they could get a break from their bus, and they’d agreed. He gave them the code to get inside, just in case it was late.

He looked around for Roxie. She was standing next to Brad and Shelton. Most of the tension had faded between her and the rest of the group. He guessed they’d heard about the test results too, and imagined they all felt bad about the way they’d treated her. A cab came up and she waved as Brad and Shelton got in and drove away. He moved beside her.

“I should’ve called,” he said.

She shrugged. “It’s okay. I figured you’d…” she trailed off.

“It’s not okay. I’m embarrassed, Rox. I don’t know why I latched onto the idea so hard of him being mine. I’ve just—I’ve never clicked with a kid, or even many adults, the way I have with Leo.”

She nodded. “He’s special, and so are you. It doesn’t surprise me. And I never thought I’d be telling you this, but … watching you with him … I really wish he was yours, Beckham.” She looked at him then and her sincerity nearly knocked him over.

“Thank you,” he said, choked up. “Roxie. I don’t even … thank you,” he said.

“It’s the truth.” She looked over his shoulder. “My cab should be here any minute. See you tomorrow night!” she said lightly.

“Wait. Come home with me, Roxie. Please?” He raised both hands. “We’ll just hang out. The Sterlings are staying too. It’ll be fun. I have several bedrooms you can choose from…”

“Beckham,” she sighed, “I can’t keep doing this manic thing we have going. It’s wearing me down. I know you just got caught up with things, but now that you know Leo’s not yours, you can move on from me too. We have too much baggage. Let’s just leave it at that.”

A cab pulled up. She got in and didn’t look back.

She wrapped her hands with gauze and ignored the familiar pain. She’d been experimenting with acetone and hydrogen peroxide for the last few weeks. Making ammonal wasn’t as difficult as she’d expected—she finally had the mixture of ammonium nitrate and aluminium powder down pat. The fun part was testing to see which measurements caused the best results. However, it was becoming more and more difficult to hide the burns from all her experiments.

She tested her limits, careful to not get too close when detonating, but then seeing how long she could endure smoke, the length of time her skin could taste the heat before it became unbearable.

She was ready.

What she was having a hard time getting past was the fact that Leo wasn’t Beckham’s son. And just when she’d made her peace with him having a child and come around to wanting him, too. It just didn’t seem fair.

Maybe this was all for the best. Beckham was vulnerable right now. And soon, she would be the one to give him the child he so desperately wanted. He would never want anyone but her again.

Tonight. It had to be tonight.

She’d waited for the perfect timing, and she knew there would be no better opportunity than this. It was risky, but she felt confident it would work.

Beckham would forget about Roxie when she wasn’t constantly in his face. And getting rid of Roxie would finally pave the way for her.

The difference between a successful murder and a botched one was all about pla

It was now or never.

It felt strange to be in L.A. without their bus or even their old place. Ian knew it would be nice at Beckham’s house, but he wanted to make sure Journey didn’t keep them up all night like she sometimes did when they were in a new place. So he took Sparrow and Journey to Beckham’s as soon as they left the airport, made sure Journey went down for her nap on time, and then left to run errands.

Tomorrow was their second wedding a

He couldn’t wait. As much as he loved his little family and loved hanging out with everyone on the tour, he needed this time alone with Sparrow. He picked up her present—a Tiffany jazz ring in platinum with diamonds. She loved her wedding ring, but he knew she’d love this, too. It looked like her, unique and exquisite.

He had one more stop to make. The instruments they’d be playing at the Grammys had been sent to the warehouse to store overnight and one of Ian’s guitars had accidentally gotten in the mix. It wasn’t crucial that he get it today, but he was close and he’d feel better having it on hand to practice the next day.

He pulled around the back and unlocked the door to the storage room, going straight for his guitar. He glanced at the clock at the end of the hall. There was plenty of time—he should beat the traffic. Something made him look up again and when he did, he went dead still.

She was staring at him, equally shocked to see him. His mouth was hanging open, and he closed it and shifted the guitar to his other hand. She moved slowly toward him and he had the thought that he should run, but he wasn’t sure why.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

Her face was covered with something powdery and her black hair went every direction. It hadn’t been that long since he’d seen her on the plane, but she’d obviously been busy since then. She moved until she was standing beside him but still didn’t say a word.

“Coco?” he said softly.

“Can you help me carry a few things to the car?” Her voice was different when she finally spoke. Measured and monotone.

He wondered if she was on something. Something seemed off about her. Really off.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes. I have to get this stuff to Suza

He hesitated, but he really wanted to get out of there, so maybe the sooner he helped her, the sooner he could leave. “Uh, okay. I’m in a hurry, so as long as we’re quick. Did you park out front? I didn’t see a car.”

She nodded and gestured for him to come with her. He set the guitar down and followed her. They walked down the hallway, through the rooms where they’d eaten and rehearsed, and through another hall on the far side that he’d never noticed.

She stopped at the last door and unlocked it. They stepped inside and he looked around. The room had a table and chairs and a door on the other side.

“It’s just through that door, to the right,” she said, motioning with her head.

He sighed and moved forward, regretting ever stopping at the warehouse in the first place. He opened the door past the table and stepped inside.